Tuesday marked a potentially big day on the Phillies’ path back to contention, as the club introduced its newest acquisition, Jake Arrieta, in a news conference at the team’s Spring Training facility in Clearwater, Fla. MLB News Index

The Phillies and coveted free-agent right-hander Jake Arrieta have agreed on a deal pending a physical, a source confirmed to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury had reported that the sides had reached agreement, after MLB Network insider Jon Heyman tweeted the teams were close to a deal. The team has not commented.(…)

Near the end of a unique offseason, no agent in the baseball industry claims a larger share of unsigned free agents than Scott Boras. Wednesday, he suggested to MLB.com that some of his star clients won’t need to wait much longer to receive new contracts, with the 2018 Major League regular season now only three(…)

The standstill market among the most high-profile free agents continues, and it’s unclear if the dust will settle before next week, when pitchers and catchers report. Among the notable arms that may not be in camp on Day 1 is Jake Arrieta, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner who is arguably the best(…)

Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb could be fallback plans for teams that come up short in their bids for Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta. With that in mind, it’s fair to ask: Are Lynn and Cobb essentially obliged to wait for Darvish and/or Arrieta to sign before they can land their own respective deals? MLB(…)

Though there are a lot of free-agent starters out there, Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta represent the class of the free-agent class, and something could come to fruition soon with teams that are open to the idea of springing for a front-line-type starter. MLB News Index

History says that Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta will eventually be rewarded for their patience in this slow-moving market. Top pitchers have always been rewarded, and there’s no reason that won’t be the case this time around. MLB News Index